[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 23 (Monday, February 6, 1995)]
[House]
[Page H1219]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         INCREASE MINIMUM WAGE

  (Mr. WATT of North Carolina asked and was given permission to address 
the House for 1 minute, and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. WATT of North Carolina. Mr. Speaker, I want to commend the 
President on his proposal to increase the minimum wage and encourage my 
colleagues to have hearings on the proposal and move it to passage 
immediately. Over two-thirds of working people making the minimum wage 
are adults over 21 years of age. They work 40 hours a week and still 
live below the poverty level.
  Let us be blunt: All the current minimum wage and 40 hours of work 
will get you is poverty. That is shameful. While the rich get richer 
over the last 15 years, the real value of the minimum wage has fallen 
27 percent since 1979. If we expect working people to be responsible, 
we need work to pay. Let us pass the President's proposal and increase 
the minimum wage.


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